Infinite Loop —

Review: Parallels 4.0 for Mac

The latest version of the latest version of Parallels Desktop is out, and many …

Stiff competition

It was only a couple months ago that we reviewed Parallels Desktop's main competitor, VMware 2.0, and it's definitely no coincidence that a new version of Parallels Desktop has launched so closely on the heels of its Mac virtualization rival. Competition between VMware and Parallels is fierce, and each of the two programs is very visibly trying to catch up and surpass the other in features and performance. From early on, Parallels has been the leader in desktop integration, and Parallels' Coherence mode—which lets you use Windows applications seamlessly in the OS X interface—makes so much sense that you would have to copy it to compete at usability. So VMware 2.0 did copy coherence mode, and it also managed to open up a lead by adding multi-core CPU and 64-bit client OS support. The new Parallels Desktop 4.0 is clearly designed to close that gap by adding:

64-bit guest OS support

Support for up to 8 GB of RAM for VM client OSes

Support for up to 8-way SMP for multicore CPUs

The most interesting thing about Parallels' multi-core implementation is that it correctly shows CPU cores as cores in the client OS, whereas VMware shows the cores as individual CPUs. This is significant because non-server distributions of Windows don't allow for more than two CPUs to be used. The result is that a VMware 2.0 virtual machine only accesses more than two CPUs under Windows if it's using an expensive server-grade version of Microsoft's OS. If you have a Mac Pro and you're looking for maximum performance out of your virtualized Windows install, this is an important distinction. But it's not all good news for Parallels users looking to make the jump to the next level.

Even after Parallels released a second build (3540) of Parallels Desktop 4.0 shortly after the launch, a release that was aimed at addressing a number of problems with the 4.0 gold version, the software still has many officially acknowledged issues that need addressing. Are these problems bad enough for you to steer clear of 4.0? Let's take a look.

Getting Started

Parallels' New Virtual Machine Assistant hasn't changed much in version 4. It still does a great job of guessing what the operating system is by the installer disk, and it handles automated installs as well as it used to. However, it does need more options—there isn't an option to pick how many CPUs or how much RAM you want for the VM at install time. If you want to set those, you have to stop the install assistant after creating the VM file but before launching the OS installer, or you can do it after booting into the VM, which will force a restart. The latter is less convenient, but, given the problems that I saw with the Leopard Server installation, it's more stable than setting it afterward. Maybe that's why it was left out of the assistant.

Another slightly annoying thing about version 4.0 is that it boots into Coherence Mode with desktop mirroring on by default. While seasoned Parallels users will know what's going on when they see this, it will probably be very confusing for new users who may look for a Windows desktop but see only a taskbar at the bottom of their screen. Desktop mirroring causes problems with certain software, in my experience, so that's another good reason for it to be off by default.

VM Updates: cross your fingers, it could be a bumpy ride. If you're a Parallels Desktop 3 user, you have to upgrade your existing VM(s) before you can get up and running with version 4. You might want to create a backup copy of your VM files, since the upgrade process has been a bit of a mess for a lot of people (but less so with the newer build). Stories of unusable or disappearing VMs are not unheard of. Also, prepare yourself for a good wait as VM upgrades are slow; it took about an hour to upgrade my very basic XP VM, and reports of three-hour VM upgrades are common.

Just think of this as a really repetitive story.

If you can, I would recommend just doing a fresh install, because new VMs are less prone to virtual barnacles from what I've seen; it makes the setup process faster, to boot (I apologize for that pun).